It’s been years in the making but a few hours ago a new anti-piracy law went live in Norway. File-sharers are now expected to have less of an easy ride than they enjoyed in the past and entire websites are expected to become blocked at the ISP level.

Monitoring the activities of Internet users has become an extremely hot topic in recent weeks, largely thanks to the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden.

While it’s now evident that large-scale U.S. Government monitoring is widespread, other countries are increasingly allowing monitoring for commercial purposes.

Following its signing into law earlier this year, today new legislation opens up Norway’s citizens to monitoring by rightsholders looking to clamp down on online file-sharing.

Just a few hours ago it became possible for copyright holders to apply to the government for permission to scan file-sharing networks for infringements. Other changes to the law means that harvested IP addresses can be converted to real-life identities with the help of the courts and ISPs.

Additionally, the new law allows for sites to be blocked at the ISP level following a successful legal application. It is widely expected that the music industry will go after ISP Telenor first in an attempt to have it block The Pirate Bay.